German arrested for drug-peddling

A total of 3.5 kg ‘high quality’ hashish worth Rs 17.5 lakh was seized from one of them, a senior Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official said on Friday.

Krishna Singh (26), hailing from West Bengal, and his aide Ralf Diersmanna alias Goose (40), a German, were arrested on May 3 from Sawantwadi in Maharashtra’s Konkan region and Macky market in Goa, respectively, said Yashodhan Wanage, Zonal Director, NCB.

Both are currently in judicial custody. The contraband was seized allegedly from Singh, who gave information about the buyer, Ralf, who was caught from Goa.

Acting on a tip-off, a trap was laid in a hotel in Sawantwadi, Sindhudurg district, where Singh, who is settled in Himachal Pradesh, was caught with the drugs.

“Singh was given the consignment by a person in Delhi from where he brought it by train to Mumbai. From there, he took a luxury bus and alighted at Sawantwadi, where he was staying in a hotel,” Wanage said.

During interrogation, Ralf told NCB that he had worked as an extra in Dum Maaro Dum, a film that exposes the drug underbelly of Goa. The German tourist claims to have shot for two scenes in the film, which courted controversy for its theme.

NCB officials suspect that Ralf, who has been visiting Goa every year since 2006, is involved in an interstate racket.